Differences in women’s earnings by educational level, 2006

This difference in earnings by education has increased sharply since 1979, when female college graduates earned 43 percent more than female high school graduates.

Women workers without a high school diploma who worked full-time in 2006 had median usual weekly earnings of $358. Those with a high school diploma and no college earned $500; those with some college but no degree earned $584 and those with an associate degree earned $632.

Full-time women workers who held a bachelor's degree in 2006 had median usual weekly earnings of $839. Master's degree holders had earnings of $987, while the figure for professional degree holders was $1,203 and for doctoral degree holders was $1,174.